LA TIMES: MANY 18-49 ARE WATCHING NETWORK TV AT LEISURE, NOT BY APPOINTMENT

[gregg75]

Long but interesting article touches on a lot of stuff. The network TV (big 4) decline will most likely continue as younger viewers watch on DVR or on demand, instead of when the show actually airs.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-upfronts-20120511,0,3102136.story

[M.J.]

I'm only 26, and television-by-appointment doesn't bother me at all. But then again, TV isn't important enough to me to bother wanting to time-shift what is broadcast. The cost of a DVR is simply not worth it to me.

No matter what happens, live sports and news will always be appointment viewing. Who wants to watch an NFL game on a DVR 36 hours after it was played?

And those might be where traditional TV can win.

[quadraphonic]

The old delivery systems are not reaching people like they used to. Neither is the content.

[Lkeller]

I'm out of the 18 - 49 demo by about a decade, but since I've gotten my DVR (about 3 years now), I rarely watch anything as it is broadcast - but at my leisure, skipping through commercials.  How the broadcast and cable networks will make money as this trend continues, it's hard to imagine.  But the benefits of a DVR are too great to resist. I get to watch a few late night shows I like the next day, without staying up late, I can see a number of shows I like that run against each other in the same time slot, and I actually spend LESS time watching TV now that an hour only takes 42 minutes.

[mnradiofan]

I'm out of the 18 - 49 demo by about a decade, but since I've gotten my DVR (about 3 years now), I rarely watch anything as it is broadcast - but at my leisure, skipping through commercials.  How the broadcast and cable networks will make money as this trend continues, it's hard to imagine.  But the benefits of a DVR are too great to resist. I get to watch a few late night shows I like the next day, without staying up late, I can see a number of shows I like that run against each other in the same time slot, and I actually spend LESS time watching TV now that an hour only takes 42 minutes.

I'm 31 and a early tech adopter.  I got my first Tivo when I was 21, and I haven't watched a show live, sports or otherwise, in 11 years.  There are times when I go to a friends house, and watching TV there is unbearable. 

And to the person who said that sports is appointment viewing, I disagree.  I record all the sports events that I want to watch, and start them when I'm ready.  This may be 10 minutes after the program starts, or days after.  The other benefit to that is I can skip all the commercials, but the main benefit is to be able to time shift my start time.

[Mark]

It's also a lot of other things. I love to listen to newsradio.I listen to other stations in other cities via the web.

But I never listen to music. I have nearly a TB of lossless music from my CD collection. Now I listen to what I like when I like.

And I realize this isn't always the best, as I miss out on a few good songs, but the world is changing

[Lkeller]

I'm out of the 18 - 49 demo by about a decade, but since I've gotten my DVR (about 3 years now), I rarely watch anything as it is broadcast - but at my leisure, skipping through commercials.  How the broadcast and cable networks will make money as this trend continues, it's hard to imagine.  But the benefits of a DVR are too great to resist. I get to watch a few late night shows I like the next day, without staying up late, I can see a number of shows I like that run against each other in the same time slot, and I actually spend LESS time watching TV now that an hour only takes 42 minutes.

I'm 31 and a early tech adopter.  I got my first Tivo when I was 21, and I haven't watched a show live, sports or otherwise, in 11 years.  There are times when I go to a friends house, and watching TV there is unbearable. 

And to the person who said that sports is appointment viewing, I disagree.  I record all the sports events that I want to watch, and start them when I'm ready.  This may be 10 minutes after the program starts, or days after.  The other benefit to that is I can skip all the commercials, but the main benefit is to be able to time shift my start time.

Exactly!  VCRs let you time-shift shows, but DVRs are, of course, more high-tech and more versatile.  Even if I want to watch a show or sporting event "live," all I have to do is wait a few mintues, and I can speed-search the commercials. So for a half hour show, I might start 10 minutes late, 20 minutes late for a one hour show, and so on.  Live sports get a little tricky because they tend to run long and pack in so many commercials.  For games, I generally catch back up to the live event after an hour or so.

[landtuna]

Some "sports" events are DVR-friendly, such as car racing, but others are not.  It depends upon whether the action is more important than the final score - at least to me.  I never record a football or hockey game for instance but I frequently record NASCAR.  Skipping the constant commercial interruptions in a NASCAR race is more important than watching the action live.  And, if the race is too boring you can fast forward through it.   

[M.J.]

Some "sports" events are DVR-friendly, such as car racing, but others are not.  It depends upon whether the action is more important than the final score - at least to me.  I never record a football or hockey game for instance but I frequently record NASCAR.  Skipping the constant commercial interruptions in a NASCAR race is more important than watching the action live.  And, if the race is too boring you can fast forward through it.   

Definitely true - when I think of live sports, I think of hockey, and I wouldn't want to be even one minute behind what others are seeing.

[Lkeller]

Some "sports" events are DVR-friendly, such as car racing, but others are not.  It depends upon whether the action is more important than the final score - at least to me.  I never record a football or hockey game for instance but I frequently record NASCAR.  Skipping the constant commercial interruptions in a NASCAR race is more important than watching the action live.  And, if the race is too boring you can fast forward through it.   

Definitely true - when I think of live sports, I think of hockey, and I wouldn't want to be even one minute behind what others are seeing.

I understand many people feel that way.  Personally, I don't mind being a half-hour or so past the live action, as long as nobody tells me what happened.  It's like buying a very clean 3 year old sports car. Yes, it may be "used," but it's new to me...and I saved a whole bunch of money.  Or in the case of TV - I don't have to watch commercials.